Yan Sikong took out the money he had prepared and politely handed it to the warden.
"Master Yan, what is the meaning of this." The warden hastily declined, "If you can't do it, you can't do it."
Yan Sikong said with a smile: "I was ordered by the General and Master Changshi to persuade Ge Zhong to put a charge on the crime. I hope it will be convenient for me so that the brothers can avoid it."
The warden said in a low voice: "It's useless. I've been sentenced, but I just refuse to paint."
"I know, the general ordered me to have a try." Yan Sikong also imitated him and whispered, winking, "You are fined wine, I will try to toast."
The warden smiled knowingly: "Master Yan single-handedly went to Kuizhou as an envoy, and with his three-inch tongue, he took down the city without bloodshed. I admire it. No wonder the general sent you here. Don't worry." He greeted the jailer All go out with him.
Yan Sikong stuffed the money bag into his arms: "Buy some good wine for the brothers."
"The little one is more respectful than obedient, thank you Lord Yan." The warden and jailer exited cheerfully.
Yan Sikong closed the iron door of the prison cell, and walked down the narrow stone stairs step by step under the dim light. His footsteps were very soft, as if he was afraid that he would be in a dream and did not dare to make too much noise.
After all, he waited for this day for eleven years.
There was a mixed smell of mildew and blood in the cell, which made it difficult to breathe. The thin moonlight leaked from the high window, and all kinds of cold and strange instruments of torture cast eerie black shadows on the wall. As far as the corner of the wall, it has completely disappeared, and the darkness seems to be a bottomless abyss, devouring everything around it.
Yan Sikong is dressed in spotless white clothes, which is incompatible with this place full of resentment and murder, but his original unrestrained and calm temperament has been completely replaced by gloomy and cold. It's kind of spooky.
Yan Sikong walked to the only cell in the prison, and quietly looked at the man lying on the rough step with his back facing him. The prison clothes on his body were bloodstained, his hair was disheveled and dirty, and his curled up body looked like Very fragile.
Yan Sikong slightly raised the corners of his lips, revealing a twisted smile.
The people in the cell seemed to have sensed something, and turned around slowly. The man with a gray face, who had aged twenty years overnight, was none other than Ge Zhong, the once glorious governor of the two lakes, now prisoner.
Ge Zhong's eyes were blank, he glanced at him indifferently, and was about to turn around.
"Master Ge." Yan Sikong said softly, "Tomorrow we will leave for Beijing, I brought some good wine and food, would you like to have a drink with Wansheng?"
"Don't waste your energy." Ge Zhong opened his mouth, his voice was hoarse, "I was wronged, I did not conspire against you, and you will be killed or cut, and I will never commit crimes."
"I'll talk about the guilt later. Human beings are like duckweed, and the wind and rain can't help themselves. Why not have fun in time, and don't let down this delicious meal."
Ge Zhong was silent for a while, then turned around, slowly climbed up from the couch, and staggered over, his sick and old state was like a dying person.
Yan Sikong sat on the ground, put the food and wine into the iron bar, poured two glasses of wine, and handed a glass to Ge Zhong: "Come, Master Ge, Wansheng has a glass."
Ge Zhong laughed mockingly: "What do you respect me for?"
"I respect Mr. Ge for his perseverance."
Ge Zhong couldn't tell whether Yan Sikong was mocking him, but he didn't bother to think about it, he raised his head and drank a cup of wine without waiting for Yan Sikong. The spicy wine flowed down his throat and poured into his body, his thin body trembled, the pain and cold were somewhat numb, he shouted: "Okay, good wine!"
Yan Sikong also drank a cup: "Master Ge, the food is still hot, hurry up and eat."
Ge Zhong was also polite, picked up the bowl and took a few mouthfuls.
Yan Sikong didn't move his chopsticks, just looked at Ge Zhong with a light smile, the two of them were only separated by a few iron pillars, but the way he looked at Ge Zhong was like looking at a prey that fell into his own trap, life and death were all up to him, happy .
Ge Zhong suddenly noticed something, raised his head, and bumped into Yan Sikong's cold and smiling eyebrows, his heart trembled fiercely, and he suddenly felt terrified.
Yan Sikong said: "Master Ge, eat more."
Ge Zhong paused, hesitantly looking at the food and wine in his hands.
Yan Sikong laughed "haha" and said, "Are you afraid that I will poison you, sir?" He followed suit and took a few mouthfuls.
Ge Zhong snorted coldly: "You and I have no grievances or enmities, why are you poisoning me, a dying person?"
Yan Sikong thought, you and I have a grudge, but I will never poison you, I want to watch you be led to the execution platform, and I will watch your body and family from below, just like watching you in the audience my dad.
After Ge Zhong finished his meal, he leaned against the wall weakly: "You go, no matter what you want to say, I will never make a bet."
Yan Sikong took out a scroll from his sleeve, every word on it was written by him, and many of them were evidence collected by himself, he spread out the scroll, facing Ge Zhong: "Your Excellency, please take a look. Your own crime book?"
Without raising his eyes, Ge Zhong murmured: "I didn't commit treason, I was wronged, and I don't know how to draw charges."
"I know my lord is wronged."
Ge Zhong was startled, looked at Yan Sikong: "You know?"
Yan Sikong's tone was very gentle: "Yes, I know your lord is not rebellious."
Ge Zhong suddenly became excited: "What do you know? Who framed me? Those, those letters, who wrote them, and who put them in my house, is it you, is it you!"
"Although my lord did not commit rebellion, there are other crimes that have been proved beyond doubt."
"I didn't rebel!" Ge Zhong glared at Yan Sikong viciously, "What do you know?"
Yan Sikong was not in a hurry to answer his question, but just smiled and said: "Are you still waiting for Xie Gonggong to rescue you? Xie Gonggong is now because of you, and he is so devastated that he can't take care of himself. He has already given up on you."
"What exactly do you want to say?" Ge Zhonghan said in a voice, "No matter how much you provoke me, I will never make a bet, and I will never admit to something I haven't done. You should give up on it."
"My lord has committed many crimes and cannot escape death. Don't you think about your son and relatives at all?"
Ge Zhong narrowed his eyes.
"Your Excellency refuses to be charged. The final outcome is either tortured into a trick or forced to be charged. Every point of the accusation at Jieshi will be confirmed. But if Your Excellency is willing to be charged, the General and Lord Chang Shi will treat you lightly. Your son." Yan Sikong smiled and said, "The Empress Dowager is not in good health recently, Your Majesty is a filial son, as long as you ask Your Majesty to forgive and pray for the Empress Dowager, your son will survive."
Ge Zhong said coldly: "Why should I trust you, a mere Hanlin? If Zhao Fuyi really dared to promise to let my son go, let him tell himself, what are you?"
"The status of the general is respected, how can he bargain with the prisoners, the meaning of this time can only be conveyed by me."
"You..." Ge Zhong scolded, "Then get out, I don't believe you. I, Ge Zhong, am loyal and loyal, and I will never die under the eternal stigma of treason. My son is filial, and I will never die." Going out and escaping!"
Yan Sikong laughed lowly twice, then laughed louder and louder, and finally turned his head up and laughed so hard that his whole body trembled. The laughter echoed in the empty cell, colliding with the wet and cold walls, the gloomy instruments of torture, the dark The flames of the candle sparked cascading echoes, as if they had attracted the ghosts and monsters to laugh together, which sent chills down the spine.
Ge Zhong looked around in panic, and said angrily, "What are you laughing at, stop laughing!"
It took Yan Sikong a long time to stop his smile. He shook his head and said with emotion: "It's really unexpected that Ge Zhong, Mr. Ge, is such a staunch and unyielding person. His body is so proud and bony, he has the bearing to set an example in the world. It's a pity Ah, what a pity, if I didn't know your true face, I would have admired you."
Ge Zhong said bitterly, "I didn't rebel, I didn't rebel..."
"You didn't rebel." Yan Sikong stared straight at Ge Zhong, "Then you didn't embezzle, extort money, dereliction of duty, sell officials, or monopolize power?"
Ge Zhong's face was grim: "Someone framed me, just like those forged letters, someone framed me! They are all forged!"
"Oh, those letters." Yan Sikong smiled, "Master Ge should be no stranger to forgery letters, you must know someone who can imitate human handwriting, right?"
"Have you found someone who can imitate human handwriting?" Ge Zhong grabbed the iron bars with both hands, "Go and check, if there is no one in Jingzhou, go to other places to check, go and check!"
Yan Sikong smiled, picked up the crime book that Ge Zhong didn't bother to glance at again, spread most of it, placed it in front of his eyes, and said softly: "My lord is a famous calligrapher and painter. The "Dust of Dust" written by my lord a few years ago "The Edict" is praised as having the style of "Boyuan Tie", and late students dare not take the ax out of others, but only ask adults to appreciate it, is this word imitated okay?"
Ge Zhong blinked his eyes and looked at the crime book. Suddenly, he widened his eyes and scanned ten lines at a glance. It was not a charge against him, but a self-reported statement of guilt. The words on the paper are clearly his words!
Ge Zhong looked at Yan Sikong as if seeing an evil ghost, and pointed at him with trembling fingers: "You...you...this is what you imitated...you..."
Yan Sikong smiled but said nothing.
Ge Zhong suddenly yelled and rushed over, stretched his thin arm like a dry branch out of the iron bar, and grabbed Yan Sikong.
Yan Sikong gracefully turned around.
"Who are you!" Ge Zhong's eyes were bloodshot, his face was ferocious, and he shouted sharply, "Why did you harm me!"
Yan Sikong admired Ge Zhong's bewildered and crazy appearance, he felt extremely happy, he chuckled and said: "Ge Zhong, do you still remember Guangning eleven years ago?"